One of the Team

Growing up in Slovenia, abortions were both common and unimportant. People had them, they were a part of life. Because they had comprehensive sex education in school, abortions were also discussed. My own mother had one, but it was never a big deal. It was something mentioned in passing and no one dwelt on it.

As an adult, and in moving across the world, it was not a big part of my life until someone I was responsible for needed reproductive healthcare for an unexpected pregnancy. The extreme difficulty in finding care and a provider, even as the decision was made to keep the pregnancy, opened my eyes to the difficulties of healthcare access in the United States.

I contacted the clinic we went to, to see if they needed support, but I never heard back from them.

Then, when my family hosted a foreign exchange student, we ran into issues again. Strong medications, harmful to developing pregnancies, were prescribed to them. This necessitated 2 forms of birth control, as the doctors wanted to be sure that there would not be any chance of an accidental pregnancy.

Navigating laws, regulations, and getting parental consent from their home country was a major headache.

The changes that happened as the Obama administration closed left all people in worse shape, so, when the 2016 election decision came down, I decided immediately that I needed to find a way to help, and in December of 2016 I began defending at a Charlotte clinic. Unfortunately, differences in how best to run the program caused stress within the defender ranks, and I decided to leave the group. Despite the setback I made sure to keep in touch with people who were still engaged in the cause.

When RRC started, I jumped back into escorting when possible, but focusing mainly on sound permits, something we had to get a week in advance and done exactly at midnight. Getting the sound permit meant peace and quiet for the patients. It functionally quieted the protesters as well and I felt like I was making a big difference.

I find joy in being part of a team of people all reaching for the same goal, and I love being part of a group that makes things a little easier for patients to access whatever care they need, as they need it.

~Iztok